Serene Highness

His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. Until 1918 it was also associated with the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties, and with a few princely but non-ruling families. It was also the form of address used for cadet members of the dynasties of France, Italy, Russia and Ernestine Saxony under their monarchies. Additionally, the treatment was granted for some, but not all, princely yet non-reigning families of Bohemia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Russia by emperors or popes.

In a number of older English dictionaries, serene as used in this context means supreme; royal; august; marked by majestic dignity or grandeur; or high or supremely dignified. The style Serene Highness, as a manner of address, has an antiquity lower to that of Highness throughout Europe, excluding the Latin language countries.

Contents

German-speaking lands1

Francophone dominions2

Italy3

Poland4

Russia5

United Kingdom6

Belgium7

Hungary8

Portugal9

Mexico10

Spain11

See also12

Notes13

External links14

German-speaking lands

The current, legal usage of the style in the German-speaking countries is confined to the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, the entirety of which bears the treatment.

The German term is Durchlaucht, a translation of the Latin(su)perillustris. This is usually translated into English as Serene Highness, however, it would be more literal to translate it as superior to, above, beyond or greater than illustrious, as it is an augmentation of Erlaucht ("illustrious"), which was accorded to immediate counts (Reichsgrafen) of the Holy Roman Empire and by mediatised counts of the German Confederation and the German Empire. The 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica wryly observes that a perfectly logical English version might be "Your Transparency".

In 1905 Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria granted the style of Durchlaucht to members of virtually every family which had held the title of prince in the former Holy Roman Empire, even if the family had never exercised sovereignty.

In the German and Austrian empires of the 19th and 20th centuries, the style Serene Highness was also officially borne by:

By tradition, Durchlaucht is still attributed to the princely dynasties which were sovereign until 1917 or had been mediatised under the Austro-Hungarian Empire and German Confederation in 1815, although the usage has been unofficial since 1918.

Francophone dominions

There is some evidence that in pre-Revolutionary France, unlike Germany, one entitled to be addressed as Serene Highness was considered to outrank someone who was merely addressed as Highness. Those members of the royal family who were not children or grandchildren of a king, i.e., the princes du sang, were entitled to be addressed as "Most Serene Highness" (son altesse sérénissime).[3] The simple style of "Highness" (altesse) was claimed by the princes étrangers and the princes légitimés. In fact, these formal styles were seldom employed in conversation, since the princes du sang used unique styles (e.g. Mademoiselle, Monsieur le Prince), while the ducal peers, led by the proud Duc de Saint-Simon, avoided conceding the altesse to the princes étrangers and bâtards royals, prompting nobles of lesser rank to do likewise.[4]

The reigning Prince of Monaco, Albert II, is addressed as His Serene Highness. His wife, children and younger sister, Princess Stéphanie, are also referred to as Serene Highness. His elder sister, Princess Caroline, was also styled Her Serene Highness prior to her 1999 marriage, but is styled Royal Highness since then, even during the period when she was officially "The Hereditary Princess of Monaco" as heiress presumptive to the throne. In French, both male and female versions are Son Altesse Sérénissime (S.A.S.), which translates, literally, as "His/Her Most Serene Highness".

Italy

Children of the Savoy kings and crown princes of Italy were entitled to the treatment of Royal Highness, but more remote descendants in the male-line were Serene Highnesses by right (although often the style of Royal Highness was granted to them ad personam, e.g. the Dukes of Aosta, Dukes of Genoa).[5]

Poland

In the First Republic of Poland (1569-1795), also called "the Most Serene Republic of Poland", His/Her Serene Reigning Majesty (SRM) was a style used by the reigning monarchs.

Russia

After 1886, great-grandchildren of Russian emperors in the male-line, and their descendants, were princes or princesses, and accorded the treatment of Serene Highness. The exception was the senior male by primogeniture in the patrilineal descent of each great-grandson, who retained the higher style of Highness.[6]

Strictly, the Russian term, Svetlost, was an honorific used in adjectival form (Светлейший : Svetleyshiy) to refer to members of a select few of Russia's princely families (e.g. "The Serene" Prince Anatoly Pavlovich Lieven or "The Serene" Prince Dmitri Vladimirovich Golitsyn). However, when translated into non-Slavic languages and used in reference to a member of the imperial Romanov family, it was usually rendered as Serene Highness.

Hungary

Before 1947, the style His/Her Serene Highness (Ő Főméltósága, literally: "His/Her High Dignity") was in use in Hungary. Princes were entitled to use it, and between 1920 and 1944 the regent, Miklós Horthy, was styled as His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary(Ő Főméltósága a Magyar Királyság Kormányzója).

Portugal

As the most powerful noble family in Portugal, the Dukes of Braganza had the official treatment of Serene Highness until 1640, when they mounted the Portuguese throne, thereby becoming entitled to the style of Royal Highness, however the infantas not in direct line for the throne of Portugal were titled as "His/Her Highness, the Serene Infante(a)

Spain

In 1807 Manuel de Godoy, Prince de la Paz, was accorded the style of Most Serene Highness, a treatment unique in that country at the time. Previous to this grant the style was sometimes used by the Catholic Monarch Isabella and Ferdinand as well as by other houses known anciently as illustrious or serene. A majority of these ancient houses lost the style through prescription. [10]

The honorific (Spanish: El Serenísimo Señor) is one of the styles of the infantes.

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